Slovak language
'' |states=Slovakia; minority language in Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary |region= |speakers=over 7 million |date=2001 census |script=Latin (Slovak alphabet) Slovak Braille |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Balto-Slavic |fam3=Slavic |fam4=West Slavic |fam5=Czech-Slovak |nation= E.g. law 500/2004, 337/1992. Source: http://portal.gov.cz (Vojvodina) ---- Recognised minority language in: |agency=Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic |iso1=sk|iso2b=slo|iso2t=slk|iso3=slk|lingua= 53-AAA-db < 53-AAA-b...-d (varieties: 53-AAA-dba to 53-AAA-dbs) |notice=IPA}} Slovak is the language spoken in Slovakia, a country in central Europe. It is a Slavic language, a group of languages which includes Russian, Polish and many other East European languages. It is very similar to Czech, and Czechs and Slovaks can understand one another quite well when speaking their own language. Polish and Sorbian are also quite similar. Slovak is spoken by more than 5 million people. Pronunciation Slovak is written using the Roman (Latin) alphabet, but there are some letters which have special signs (called “diacritics”). The letters č, š, ž and dž are like the English sounds in ch''in, ''sh''in, vi''s''ion and ''j''uice. The letters ď, ľ, ň, and ť are called “soft consonants”. They are pronounced with the blade of the tongue at the roof of the mouth. C, dz and j are also soft. C is like ''ts in ba''ts'', dz is like ds in ro''ds'', and j is like y in y''es. Signs over a vowel show that the vowel is pronounced long: á, é, í, ó, ý ú. A long vowel is never followed in the next syllable by a short vowel. The ô is like English ''wo''mbat, and ä is the same as the letter e. Ch is like ''ch in Scottish lo''ch''. V is more like English w. The letters b, d, ď, dz, dž, g, h, z, ž are voiceless when they are at the end of a word (for example: 'd' will sound like 't'). The stress is always on the first syllable of the word. This is different from Russian, for example, where the stress can be anywhere. Like other Slavic languages, Slovak is difficult for English speakers to pronounce. This is particularly because several consonants often come together. In the sentence: “Strč prst skrz krk!” there is not one single vowel (it means: “Stick a finger through your neck!”)! Grammar The grammar is similar to Russian, but there are some differences. Russian does not use words for “to have” and “to be” but Slovak does: * Ja som Angličan (I am English) * (Ja) mám kufor (I have a suitcase). Notice that we say “a” suitcase, but Slovak does not have articles (words like “the” and “a”). There are three genders in Slovak. This means that it is important to know for every noun whether it is masculine, feminine or neuter. There is no article to make it obvious (like in German), but one needs to know in order to decide what the adjective ending will be. Like in many other European languages, verbs have to agree with the person, i.e. there are different forms for 'I', 'you', 'he' etc. Verbs have different aspects to show whether the action is complete or not. There are also different cases which show the meaning of a word in a sentence. Different prepositions need to be followed by different cases. This all makes Slovak grammar quite complicated for English speakers. Some Slovak words and phrases The numbers from 1 to 10 are: . Use the familiar form when talking to a child, and the polite form when talking to an adult. * –Hello * –Good morning * –Good day (Used during the day) * –Good evening * –Good night * –Welcome! (familiar form) * –Welcome! (polite form) * - My name is John (Literally: I call myself John) * –What is your name? (Familiar form) * –What is your name? (Polite form) * –I am American (If speaker is male) * –I am American (If speaker is female) * –How are you? (familiar form) * –How are you (polite form) * –Thank you, I am well * –Not too bad * –Bad! * –Please * –Thank you * – You are welcome (this is a reply to “Ďakujem”) * - Enjoy your meal References Category:Slavic languages Category:Languages of Europe